George Overbury Hart

Commonly known as Pop Hart, George Overbury Hart (1868-1933) is regarded as one of the finest watercolorists in modern American art. He was associated with the leading figures of early 20th-century modernism and the New York school of Social Realism, including Arthur B. Davies, Robert Henri, Edward Hopper, Walt Kuhn, and John Sloan. Hart began his career as a sign painter for amusement parks around New York City. Although sometimes said to have been self-taught, Hart was actually highly trained, studying for three years at the Art Institute of Chicago and at the Academie Julian in Paris. During his residency at an artists' colony in Fort Lee, New Jersey, Hart produced stage sets for motion picture studios. He was nomadic by nature and traveled to places like Iceland, Egypt, the South Sea Islands, South America, and the West Indies. He preferred to work in watercolor "en plein air" and was a keen observer of human activity. He was an excellent draftsman, and worked in a highly unorthodox style, spontaneously layering watercolors in loose strokes. He briefly experimented with several styles and in the 1920s began to work in print media. Hart was a member of the American Water Color Society, the New York Watercolor Club, the Brooklyn Society of Etchers, the Salons of America, and the Society of Independent Artists.

Submitted by Stone + Press Gallery